Golden Eagles heading into OVC tournament as No. 4 seed

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- For the second consecutive season the
Tennessee Tech soccer team is heading to the Ohio Valley Conference
tournament. The Golden Eagles earned the No. 4 seed in the six-team
tournament, and will face No. 5 Eastern Illinois in the first round
on Thursday at 4 p.m. Central in Morehead, Ky.

"EIU is a talented team. I think they're very well coached and
they have a great spirit," Tennessee Tech Head Coach Becky
Fletcher said. "Last year they struggled, and Summer Perala, in her
first year, has changed that whole team's attitude. You can tell
that team is excited about being on the field. They're energetic.
She's done a really good job, and you can tell by the way those
girls fight tooth-and-nail. We're going to have to match their
passion."

The Golden Eagles and Panthers battled to a 2-2 tie in muddy
conditions in Charleston, Ill., earlier this season. Both teams
finished with 3-3-2 records in OVC play. Tech and EIU have gone to
overtime in their last two meetings.

"I think that with having a draw with a team, you feel like there
is unfinished business," Fletcher said. "You were so close yet
there was no result. A tie is better than a loss but you still want
to get over that hump."

The Golden Eagles are heading into their second consecutive OVC
tournament, and sixth in the 11-year history of the tournament.
Tech was the No. 5 seed and lost in the first round of last year's
OVC tournament to UT Martin. The Golden Eagles finished the season
at 5-11-3.

"The goal was to each year exceed the standards from the previous
year," Fletcher said. "We wanted to finish with a higher seed than
we did last year, which we did, but our goal is still to win a
conference championship. That is everybody's goal in this league.
We took a step forward, but now it's anybody's ball game."

Morehead State and UT Martin shared the regular-season title with
the Eagles earning the top seed and the right to host the three-day
event while the Skyhawks are the second seed. Murray State is the
third seed followed by Tennessee Tech, Eastern Illinois and Eastern
Kentucky.

The first-round of the tourney takes place on Thursday, Nov 5 with
Tennessee Tech and Eastern Illinois playing at 4 p.m. Central
followed by Murray State and Eastern Kentucky at 7:00 p.m.
Central.

As the top two seeds, Morehead State and UT Martin earned
first-round byes. The Semifinals will be held on Friday, Nov. 6 and
the championship taking place on Sunday, Nov. 8.

"I think they know now that this is the third part of your season.
It's one game for all the marbles. If you lose you're done, if you
win, you advance. It's an exciting experience for them. They're
going to really see everything come to fruition."